Michigan Schools, Businesses Join Fight To Mitigate Economic Fallout From Coronavirus

The true extent of the coronavirus pandemic's damage to America’s workforce became more apparent Thursday with weekly unemployment benefit filings soaring to 3.3 million, the highest number on record.

Governments around the world have pumped money into their economies, helping buoy volatile asset prices as well as restore confidence in businesses and consumers.

In Detroit, Bedrock, the commercial real estate firm owned by Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, announced it will waive up to three consecutive months of rent for Detroit small businesses and restaurants.

“As with all of our tenants, entrepreneurs and small businesses play an incredibly important role in our economy, which has been central to Dan Gilbert’s vision over the last 10 years of his investments in Detroit and Cleveland,” said Bedrock CEO Matt Cullen, according to MLive. 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer enacted a stay-at-home order March 24 that's effective through April 13 in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. It calls for all non-essential businesses to suspend on-site activities for a period of one month.

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The impact of the order on local Detroit businesses has been severe.

Jeremy Sasson, owner of multiple Detroit-area restaurants, told Benzinga that he had to lay off the majority of his workforce.

“We found ourselves in a position where two weeks prior to these transitions, we were already seeing sales compression,” he said. “We had to lay off hundreds of team members, and furlough many others.”

Michigan State University offered students a credit of $1,120, helping support them in their transition to remote studies, while nearby low-income housing providers paused evictions.

“It is going to take the entire community to mitigate the effects of this pandemic on the region, and we are happy to do our part to help our portfolio’s most vulnerable businesses weather the storm," said Bedrock's Cullen.

"We are staying in close contact with each of our tenants and stakeholders every day to understand their needs and concerns, and how we can help.”

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